Venetian blind slat-cleaning device



July 28, 1959 M. H. SCHOENFIELD ETAL 2,895,243

VENETIAN BLIND SLAT-CLEANING DEVICE Filed Dec. 31. 1956 qua beep/7191i mm, 11. Scboenfild,

INVENTORS.

14 ferns United States Patent 2,896,243 VENETIAN BLIND SLAT-CLEANING DEVICE Milton H. Schocn'field, Beverly Hills, and Donald B. Schoenfield, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application December 31, 1956, Serial No. 631,948

6 Claims. (Cl. 15-244) Our invention relates to and has for a purpose the provision of a device by which the cleaning of the slats of a Venetian blind can be quickly and thoroughly effected, and without dismounting the blind from its support at a window.

It is also a purpose of our invention to provide a Venetian blind slat-cleaning device which embodies two wiping elements, each made of a material that is ab sorbent to retain any cleaning liquid applied thereto, such as soaped water, and which is also readily compressible to effect removal therefrom of the cleaning liquid and the accumulated dirt after use of the elements in a cleaning operation, the device also including a frame upon which the elements are so mounted that one can extend the elements simultaneously to opposite sides of a Venetian blind slat and then move them along the slat to wipe dust and other foreign matter from both sides of the slat simultaneously, and thus effectively and quickly clean the slat. It is also a purpose of our invention to provide a device of this character in which the wiping elements are shaped to conform to the transverse curvature of a slat as most slats are now made, and whereby in the use of the device the elements are caused to have full contact with opposite sides of a curved slat so as to simultaneously clean the same.

A further purpose of our invention is to provide a slat-cleaning device in which one of the wiping elements is normally flat and fixed on the frame, and the other in the form of a roller which is rotatable on the frame and of convex curvature lengthwise to conform to the concave curvature of the underside of the transversely curved slat so as to have complete contact therewith transversely, and thus remove dust therefrom when the roller is rolled lengthwise beneath the slat. Moreover, the roller element has, in its periphery, grooves which may be of circular or spiral form so that as the element is rolled on the slat the dust as moistened by the element when Wet will be collected in the grooves and thus more effectively removed from the underside of the slat.

We will describe only one form of Venetian blind slat-cleaning device embodying our invention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. l is a view showing in fragmentary perspective, a Venetian blind, and having applied to one of the slats thereof one form of cleaning device embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the device and in applied position on a blind slat, a portion of one of the wiping elements being in section.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of one of the wiping elements with a portion thereof in section to show the interior form of such element, and the construction of that part of the wire frame upon which the element is supported.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, our device ice.

in its present embodiment comprises a frame F formed of wire, and preferably consisting of two lengths of wire 15 and 16 having linear portions 15a and 16a atone end which are welded or otherwise secured to each other, and extend into a handle H where they are secured in any suitable manner. From one end of these linear portions the Wire 15 is bent to form an inclined portion 15b at the lower end of which is a linear portion that forms an arm or axle 150.

The wire 16 has a terminal portion which provides an arm 16b that is bent first in one direction and then the other to form U-shaped undulations 17 which collectively constitute a securing means for a slat-wiping element. The free end of the arm 16b has fixed thereto a head 18 which forms a rounded enlargement that is preferably made of rubber.

Through the medium of a bearing sleeve 19 a slatwiping element 'E, in the form of a roller, is rotatably mounted on the arm or axle 15c, and this element and the sleeve are confined against movement lengthwise on the axle by means of a stop 20 formed by spreading the wire, and a washer 21 between this stop and the adjacent end of the sleeve 19, and a washer 22. and a head 23 at the other end of the sleeve.

The element E has an outside diameter that is greatest at its longitudinal center and tapered therefrom towards its ends so that the roller is of convex form lengthwise. The element E has its periphery formed with grooves 24 which may be of circular form, or in the continuous spiral form illustrated.

In addition to the element E, the device also includes an element El which is of block form and provided with a longitudinal recess 25 which, as shown in Fig. 4 is open at one end and closed at the other, and of uniform width and thickness from end to end. It 'is into this recess 25 that the securing means 17 is extended, and because the undulations of such securing means are wider than the recess, coupled with the fact that the element E1 is of a compressible material, as will be later described herein, the edge walls of the recess are expanded, and thus placed under tension at spaced intervals and in opposite directions by the undulations, as well as the head 18, the element E1 is fixedly secured on the frame.

The element E1 is readily mounted on the frame F in the following manner: While holding the element in one hand and the handle H in the other, the head end 18 of the wire portion 16b is inserted into the open end of the recess 25 with the undulations 17 coplanar with the slot. Now by pushing the element and the frame toward each other, and at the same time oscillating the frame in correspondence with the undulations, the securing means is caused to be extended into the recess to finally occupy the position shown in Fig; 4, thus locking the element and frame together, and positioning the element so that one side thereof is tangent to and in contact with the roller element E.

It will be noted that, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the element E1 is of such a length that while the inner end thereof terminates flush with the inner end of the element E, the outer end projects beyond or overhangs the outer end of the element E. This is for the purpose of facilitating insertion of a blind slat between the elements incident to cleaning thereof as will be more fully explained when describing how the device is used.

The elements are made of any suitable compressible material having a porosity such that any cleaning liquid employed will be readily absorbed by the element, and yet the elements can be easily squeezed to express the liquid and dirt therefrom after their use in a slatcleaning operation, and so that they will be readied for a second cleaning operation. While various materials possessing the aforesaid characteristics are available on the open market, it has been found that polyurethane foam material is ideally suited for the purpose.

In Fig. 1 is illustrated in fragmentary perspective a conventional form of Venetian blind having slats S which are of concavo-convex form transversely."

In the use of the device, the wiping elements E and B1 are first saturated with any suitable cleaning liquid such as a solution of soap and Water or even water alone, whereupon the user by gripping the handle H extends the element E1 across the upper side of any slat S of the Venetian blind when they are adjusted to the horizontal positions shown. By now pushing the device forwardly the slat S is caused to pass between the elements the element E passing to the lower concave side of the slat and the element E1 to the upper convex side, all in the manner illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

With the device so applied to a slat, the element E1 has complete contact transversely with the slat at the convex side thereof, while the elementE has complete contact transversely with the concave side of the slat because of its convex contour. By now moving the device through manipulation of the handle, longitudinally along the slat, the elements are caused to wet, and wipe dust and other foreign matter from the slat sides simul-.

taneously. Since the element E1 is fixed on the frame F it slides along the top side of the slat in its cleaning action, while the element E being rotatable on the frame, rolls on the bottom side of the slat. It is because of this rolling action that new surfaces of the element E are constantly presented to the bottom side of the slat to move eflfectively to clean the same. This cleaning action is further enhanced by the grooves 24, since as the element rolls on its axis the grooves move diagonally of the slat to cause the edges of the groove walls to scrape the slat surface and thus remove foreign matter therefrom and cause the same to be deposited in the grooves.

It will be noted that because of the undulated form of the arm 16b, the element E1 can be squeezed to remove excess cleaning solution therefrom since in use of the element it is only necessary that it be damp to produce the proper cleaning action.

Although we have herein shown and described only one form of device for cleaning Venetian blind slats, embodying our invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A device for cleaning the slats of Venetian blinds, including: a first element having a recess therein; a second element having an opening axially therethrough, said elements of a compressible liquid-absorbing material; and a pair of arms secured to each other at one end and spaced from each other at the other end, one of said arms at its spaced end extending into said recess and undulated to retain the first element thereon,

' 4 and the other'of said arms at its spaced end extending through said opening and rotatably supporting the second element.

2. A device for cleaning the slats of Venetian blinds, including: a flat element having a recess therein; a cylindrical element having an opening axially therethrough, said elements of a compressible liquid-absorbing material; a pair of arms secured to each other at one end and spaced from each other at the other end, one of said arms at its spaced end extending into said recess and undulated to retain the flat element thereon, and the other of said arms at its spaced end extending through said opening; and means for rotatably mounting the cylindrical element on the spaced end of the last-mentioned arm.

3. A device for cleaning the slats of Venetian blinds as embodied in claim 2, wherein the cylindrical element has its outer end terminating short of the outer end of the flat element.

4. A device for cleaning the slats of Venetian blinds as embodied in claim 2 wherein the cylindrical element has a longitudinally convex outer periphery.

5. A device for cleaning the slats of Venetian blinds as embodied in claim 2, wherein the cylindrical element has a longitudinally convex outer periphery which is formed with circumferential grooves.

6. A device for cleaning the slats of Venetian blinds, including: a flat element having a recess therein; a cylindrical element having an opening axially therethrough, said elements of a compressible liquid-absorbing material; a pair of arms secured to each other at one end and spaced from each other at the other end, one of said arms at its spaced end extending into said recess and undulated to retain the flat element thereon, and the other of said arms at its spaced end extending through said opening; and means for rotatably mounting the cylindrical element on the spaced end of the last-mentioned arm, the cylindrical element having a longitudinally convex outer periphery which is formed with a spiral groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

